Skip to main content
Greater Cambridge Shared Planning

Sorry, the alerts failed to load

About Planning Permission

You should find out if you need planning permission before starting any building work.

If you go ahead without permission, you may have to put things back to how they were. 

You are likely to need planning permission if you want to:

  • construct a new building
  • alter the external appearance of an existing building
  • extend a property
  • convert a house into flats
  • change the use of a building or land

The Planning Portal’s guidance on planning permission has an interactive map function you can use to search for common projects. 

Some alterations, extensions or changes of use do not need planning permission. This is called 'permitted development'.  

To confirm that your proposal is permitted development, you can apply for a Lawful Development Certificate on the Planning Portal.

Different rules apply if you live in a conservation area, or your property is listed.

You should use our pre-application advice service to discuss your proposal first. 

If your property is a ‘single dwelling house’ (not a flat or maisonette) you can make various changes under permitted development. Please use the Planning Portal's interactive map for further guidance.

View the Permitted development rights technical guidance.

However, you will usually require planning permission if your property:

  • is a flat or maisonette
  • is a listed building
  • is in a conservation area.

You will normally need planning permission to put tables and chairs on the highway outside of your premises. This is because it involves a change to the use of that land. The term 'highway' includes the carriageway and footway, alleys, and passageways.

You may not require planning permission if all the land is on a private forecourt. For example, if the use of the tables and chairs is an extension of the ground floor use of the premises. However, you will require a Highway Amenities Licence.

Projects that normally have permitted development rights (do not need permission):

  • adverts and signs
  • working from home

Check if you need planning permission for common business projects on the government’s Planning Portal.

Uses of land and buildings are put into categories called 'use classes'. Usually, you’ll need planning permission to change from one kind of use to another. There are a few exceptions where the legislation allows some changes between uses.

You don’t need planning permission if:

  • both the present and proposed uses fall within the same ‘use class’, or
  • the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 says that a change of use is permitted to another specified class.

For example:

  • a bakery could be changed to a shoe shop without permission, as these uses fall within the same class
  • a restaurant could become a shop or an estate agent as a Use Class Order allows this change without planning permission.

Please visit the Planning Portal for information about change of use.